How to Eat the Right Amount of Sugar (It's Not What You Think)

I ate three pieces of cake last night and I felt completely gross. I realized that sugar makes me feel terrible and I have to give it up completely.

I hear that, not infrequently, from my clients. On some level, I think it makes them feel virtuous: I'm going to give up sugar for "intuitive" reasons!

And, look, that's totally fine. It's totally fine to do whatever makes you feel good around food - whether that means eating no cake or 100% cake.

But, in my experience, if you are someone who is frustrated with your eating, you might....just maybe....have a tendency to see things in black and white.

I have to give up cake entirely.
I'm going to stop eating all processed sugars.
I have to get dessert out of my head - I'm addicted and in a sugar fog.

Today, I wanted to give you a loving reminder of something you might be forgetting.

Are you ready?

Here it is:

It's all about dosage.

For almost everything we consume in life, there is a beneficial dosage and a harmful dosage.

This is a standard concept in the world of medicine. If you want to get really technical, almost every drug has a "therapeutic window" -- an amount large enough to deliver a beneficial effect, but not so large that it causes a problem for the patient.

Every substance that you consume has a "therapeutic" window, from prescription drugs to Tylenol to water and milk.

Too little water, for example, and you miss out on the benefits of being well-hydrated. Too much, and you become nauseous and dizzy, and could even die.

The key is to have the right dosage.

This same dosage issue applies to eating and feeling good.

You want enough of an indulgent food to be satisfied. But you don't want to eat so much that you feel gross or guilty or overstuffed.

Of course, easier said that done, right? Here are two things to keep in mind if you try to put this "dosage" concept into action:

1. You're going to have to experiment.

When any new therapeutic drug is being developed, no one knows the exact right amount to give to patients until they've done some experiments. And even when you start using a specific medicine, you or your doctor may adjust your dosage over time -- you start by taking one Advil, for example, and then see if you need another.

Guess what? You need to do the same thing with your eating.

Eat a little bit. See how you feel. Are you satisfied? Do you want more? What does your body want?

It's often a smart strategy to begin by noticing your minimum dosage -- what is the minimum amount that you need to feel satisfied? Then slowly increase the amount you consume until you come just shy of your maximum (the amount of a food you can eat before you start feeling a way that you don't want to feel).

It's also worth remembering that you might not get it right the first time. You might think you're eating an amount that will make you feel good, but then realize too late that you ate too much.

That doesn't necessarily mean that you need to give up sugar entirely! It does, however, mean that you need to note that you consumed too high a dosage of chocolate cake, and that next time you should eat less of it.

But it doesn't mean that you've been "bad" or that you're a terrible, indulgent person. It just means that you didn't get the dosage right this time.

2. Hunger and dosage

It's worthwhile to note how these minimum and maximum thresholds intersect with "hunger."

You might still be hungry, but suddenly notice that you feel gross while eating a certain food. At that point, stop eating that food! You can still satisfy your hunger, but drop the onion rings, for instance, and think about what would feel good to eat.

Or, you may be full, but still crave more chocolate chip cookies. At that point, promise yourself that you can have chocolate chip cookies the very next time you eat.

You need to respect your hunger, your cravings, and how your body feels. It's definitely not an easy task.

But I also know from experience, and from watching clients, that it can be done.

It only works if you start experimenting and paying attention. So that's my challenge to you this week:

Take a food that you love, and start eating it. Notice when you eat just enough to feel satisfied with the flavor -- that's your minimum dosage. And then keep eating, and notice when you start to feel full, or gross (whichever comes first!) -- maximum dosage for today. Notice how it varies from day to day.

And I'd love to hear from you in the comments! Have you ever thought applying this concept of "dosage" to your eating? What would be the right dose of one of your favorite foods?

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Are you used to "having it together" in your life, but your eating + weight is the little piece that's not going right? Check out Katie's free "What's Your Eating Style" ebook -- a beautiful, 22-page ebook that lets you identify your eating archetype, and offers detailed, personalized practices to try TODAY.

If you're struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorder Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.

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How Focusing on Goals Can Make You Fail

Say you want to lose an amount of weight. You set a goal in your mind and then work for it and wait until it happens. But what if it doesn't? What if you can't control yourself and you just can't seem to get to where you want to be? What if the amount of weight you wish to shave off of your figure is too much and you just don't have that much discipline in you? Is weight loss a goal you will never achieve?

Keeping one's eye on the finish line can off course be motivating for some but for others it can be intimidating and debilitating. I remember mountain biking for the first time after years, when my legs started to give up on me. I am very strict about covering pre-decided distances when working out so quitting was off the table. If I were to start descending before I reached the top of the mountain I would have felt like I was never on a bike ride in the first place. This is why I stopped looking at the top and would land my gaze at the first tree I would find in my way, then the second, then the fifth and so on. Before I knew it, I had made it.

Breaking down a great goal and dividing it into smaller, more attainable ones only makes you feel more successful. If you aim at finishing a marathon, you are only happy once: the moment you pass the finish line. But if you refocus and redefine your goal, from an all-or-nothing to a getting-there approach, your happy moments increase exponentially: you celebrate making it through the first 5k then the 10, then the 20 until you reach the end.

This morning I was reading some of Leigh Weinraub's articles for the Huffington Post Blog. I felt enlightened by her quote urging us to Fall in love with the process and the results will come. Come to think of it, who wouldn't want to magically turn into a coveted version of themselves overnight: alluring, popular, fit, bright, envied by others? However misleading and scientifically unfounded, quick-fix messianic claims have been deceiving us through their brilliance for years: buy this drink and it will effortlessly turn you into a supermodel, a superman, Steve Jobs or Kim Kardashian.

Besides the evident business interest in satiating these marketing-born needs, believing in miracles steadily drives us away from getting to where we wish to be. No matter why we would prefer to choose the easy road to success, sometimes the only way to the other side is through. The day we tell ourselves that no one can fly us to our goals and if we truly want them we have to try our souls and bodies, is the day that brings us closer to our dreamland.

Goals can either challenge or petrify your potential: so be goal-less. Forget about where you want to get and focus on putting one step in front of the other. Walk and walk and let your feet lead the way. After a few miles you will open your eyes and see that you are where you wanted. Successful and pleasantly surprised.

To learn about my Today I Failed At movement, click here
To contact me, email spyropoulosdaphne@gmail.com

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Three Must-Do Stretches If You Work a Desk Job

You have probably heard "sitting is the new smoking." Most people think the problem with sitting is simply a lack of movement. And if we simply moved more, we would counteract the negative effects of sitting.

However sitting for long periods of times is far more problematic than just a lack of movement.

It becomes a problem of biomechanics. In short, when we sit, certain muscles are placed in a shortened position, while other muscles are simultaneously lengthened. Over time, this leads to distorted posture and poor movement patterns that can lead to injury.

There is likely someone if your office who has succumbed to the dreaded "desk posture." Rounded shoulders, a forward head, and an overall slumped posture. Not only is this posture unflattering, it makes exercising extremely inefficient and ineffective.

Without proper posture, it becomes difficult to fully engage your muscles during exercise. We put in the effort, but fail to fully reap the benefits. We don't just want to move more. We need to move better!

Tools like stand-up desks, posture shirts, treadmill desks, and Fitbits are great tools that remind and encourage us to get up and move. More importantly they break the negative posture pattern caused from prolonged periods of sitting.

I highly suggest investing in a stand up desk or building a makeshift one of your own. Fitbits are surprisingly effective at helping people gamify movement. You can compete for steps against friends and consistently strive for more steps each day.

We can take it a step further and perform a few specific stretches to help combat the dreaded desk posture. While there are many other useful stretches, these three stretches target areas that are routinely tight in people who work desk jobs.

Integrating these stretches will help you reclaim proper posture, improve your movement patterns, and help you maximize the value of any workout, by ensuring you get full range of joint motion and maximal muscular engagement.

The first two stretches target the hip flexors. Tight hip flexors can impact the position of your pelvis and inhibit your ability to use the large and powerful glute muscles. Perform these two stretches and you may immediately feel the difference during exercises like lunges, squats, step-ups. These stretches could even impact an upper body exercise like push-ups by helping you re-establish a neutral pelvis and engage more core musculature.




The second is a chest stretch. While the reason for hunched posture is complex, opening up the chest muscles is an easy and beneficial stretch that may even be possible to perform while at work.

If you are someone with severely distorted posture from a career of working a desk job, I suggest seeking out a personal trainer or physical therapist that specializes in corrective exercise.

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The Real Reasons Why You've Hit the Dreaded Weight Loss Plateau

It's February, and for many people, that means halfway through winter, and most likely all the way through the cessation of your well thought out New Year's weight loss plan. Yes, it happened again. You promised yourself that this year, you'd finally lose the weight. That this year, you'd improve your eating habits and that this year, you'd start training for that marathon you always dreamed about completing.

Yet here you are, just like last year, with only a few pounds to get excited about. Here's the scary truth. Maybe you did all of those things, but the weight loss just stopped. For many of my patients, it's not the big behavior changes that kept them from achieving their goals. In fact, many people make significant changes on January 1st that impact their weight and their health, like adding more vegetables to their diet and cutting down on snacking and eating out. But it's the little (and what many people think insignificant) actions that actually make all the difference.

There's still hope! After all, it's only February, and recognizing these little, yet very impactful habits, could get you back on track with your "healthy by summer" initiative. Here are the top 5 mistakes that can halt even the most effective weight loss approaches.

1. Eating to Exercise
Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do to live longer and better. But when it comes to weight loss, it turns out that cutting calories is actually much more important than adding reps. Studies show that if you're using exercise, and only exercise to shed pounds; you may be disappointed with the number on the scale. A 2015 study found that exercise alone didn't actually deliver weight loss. Researchers discovered that as you increase activity, your appetite goes up as well, and you consume more calories to satisfy that appetite. The "more" is important here because if you eat more calories than you actually burn, then you may still struggle to shed pounds. Further, a 2016 study found that as we exercise at even higher levels, our bodies adapt to this activity and don't necessarily burn more calories. In fact, people that engaged in higher levels of physical activity to lose weight often saw a decline in weight loss after a few months. The advice here is by no means to stop exercising. The point is that you'll need to continue to control calorie intake despite this very healthy habit. A daily run or a weight lifting session is not insurance to overindulge later on. Keep exercise in, but don't add calories to compensate once you've started an exercise routine.

2. Starting the Day off with Sugar
The sugary cereal, the syrupy coffee creamer, and that danish you chomp on in the car on the way to work - they are all killing your diet. Sure, it's obvious that these foods are not on any "weight loss miracle" lists. But it's more than that. Having a lot of sugar early on in the day means you're not having something else - protein. Study after study has shown that starting your day with protein makes it easier to lose weight, and then resist cravings later in the day. Protein and fat also have minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin, two things that you don't want up first thing in the morning. Try some eggs and avocado, a high protein shake, or a low fat plain yogurt with nuts a small amount of low glycemic deeply hued berries instead of a bagel and jelly or even a big bowl of oatmeal.

3. Being too hungry to diet
Being hungry does not feel good. It's uncomfortable, it's scary for some, and for the majority of individuals that have put themselves on restrictive diets where deprivation is the norm, hunger can be downright detrimental. Hunger, on a day-to-day basis, works against you in terms of regulating weight loss. In the end, you'll end up eating what you need, and then some, to compensate. A 2015 study that researched the "discomfort when hungry" phenomenon found that specific neurons that fire during energy deficits lead individuals to search for, and consume, food. They found in mice that eating was much more than a simple choice based solely on taste, but more driven by the desire to offset the negative feelings associated hunger--what we humans may refer to as "pangs." As more and more weight is lost, these signals become stronger and, along with them, the desire to eat. Eventually, the body's mission to fill the depleted calories is stronger than our quest to get into skinny jeans.
Similar findings were demonstrated in a 2011 study as well.

So, hunger is more powerful than just being hungry. It has a neurological aspect. The solution is to essentially trick your body into not feeling hunger. First (and this one is obvious), don't eat when you're not hungry. Less obvious strategies, include adding to your diet more fat and protein, two macronutrients that fill you up without surges of insulin. Second, ditch any distractions (like the TV or your phone) when eating, so that you can better sense when you've actually had enough. Finally, fill yourself up with water, and other calorie free drinks, and focus on high volume, low calorie foods like cruciferous vegetables. Starving yourself will backfire - the studies, your brain, and the scale have all shown that to be true. I advise my patients to never have a moment in the day when they are hungry. Rather, eat in a manner that provides moments where you can say "I think I need to refuel."

Keep in mind that 7 days a week of deprivation is not the same thing as intermittent fasting, a weight loss approach that puts the body into a fasting state two days a week. Intermittent fasting has actually been very effective for many of my
patients due to its ability to "rewire" the brain to have less cravings and hunger.

4. Ignoring Your Stress
If you're human, you experience stress from time to time, and if you're diet savvy, you know you have to find ways of dealing with that stress. An animal study found that stress not only increases cortisol (a weight loss nightmare) but it also releases a protein called Betatrophin that inhibits a critical enzyme needed for fat metabolism. In turn, it reduces your chances to break down fat, making you more of a fat storer rather than a fat burner. Need more evidence of how impactful a lack of stress management can be? Consider this: a study from Yale found that even normal weight individuals had increases in abdominal fat when cortisol levels were high. High stress can also impact sleep. While getting a few too little zzz's may seem like no big deal, it's a very big deal to your digestive hormones. Ghrelin and leptin get confused when they're not rested enough, making you hungrier, and less likely to satisfy that hunger. If you've ever had a ravenous appetite the day after an all nighter, you know exactly what I mean. To get back on track with weight loss, get plenty of sleep, and find a way to manage chronic stress. This could be through yoga, meditation, guided imagery or simply taking a walk around the block.

5. Too Happy About Happy Hour
For many of my patients, drinking alcohol can be one of the most difficult habits to break. Many can cut down their drinking, but not enough to sustain weight loss. Moderate alcohol has benefits to your health and most people know this. But when it comes to managing or losing weight, it has no redeeming value. A glass of red wine sets you back about 120 calories, a can of regular beer is 150 calories and a shot of vodka about 100. That may not seem like a lot, but if you're pouring yourself, chances are you aren't staying within what's considered a portion and the calories are more than you think. Further, once you start feeling the effects of alcohol, you're more likely to throw the diet out the fast food window for the night. Five nights of this at regular happy hours can lead to a major detour on your weight loss highway. So forget about the French drinking and staying thin. You're probably drinking like an American, and throwing the whole "alcohol can fit within my diet" way off course. Of course, if you're indulging in margaritas or daiquiris, forget about it! Even "normal" portions of those drinks pack serious calories. The solution, cut the happy hour that's making your weight very unhappy and stick to only 1-2 measured drinks a week. That's 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or 1.5 ounces of spirits.

Weight loss is not easy, and there are plenty of obstacles that can get in the way of our goals. Hopefully, knowing some not-so-obvious ways to cut more weight can start today!

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Fitness and Social Media: A Match Made in Heaven or Hell?

I have a serious bone to pick with the fitness movement that is flooding our social news feeds. Let me first start off by saying that I am a huge advocate for a healthy lifestyle and recognize and value the importance of exercise and a well-balanced diet. I also recognize that there is a fine line between healthy living and obsessive, disordered living. And this is where my frustrations are rooted.

There are limitations to using social media as a platform for fitness that can be very damaging.

We Share What We Want

We are in charge of our own social media accounts. We post what we want and leave out what we please. I'm sure many of you have been exposed to your high school classmate's perfect relationship on Facebook, only to see the relationship fall apart three days after a sappy post about "the flowers he bought me just because."

The same goes for the fitness movement. The photos of the "healthy", low carb meals. The perfect abs. The myfitnesspal screen shot of a 14-mile run. If we let them, these photos can make us feel like failures as we chow down on a turkey sandwich with fully glutinated bread and regular, non-vegan cheese.

Following these social accounts can be valuable as we partake on our own unique health journeys. They can serve as inspiration for future meals and fitness goals. However, I assure you that the girl with the well-defined abs did not take that picture when she was farty and bloated. And your favorite Instagram food account? For every ten healthy food posts, it's likely there is at least one bacon cheeseburger that didn't make the cut. Keep that in mind before you beat yourself up for not being "perfect" (whatever that even means).

Diet Shaming and Pushing Personal Ideals

If being a vegan or eating a Paleo or ketogenic diet works for you, awesome. But please, please don't judge others for their diet choices. We are all on our own personal journeys. Telling someone that his or her food choices are wrong is fat shaming in disguise. Unless a person is actively seeking advice or guidance, it is 100% not okay to offer it to them unsolicited.

Redefined Ideas of "Normal" and a Wavering Focus on Actual Health

I admire beauty as much as the next person - but what exactly is a "beautiful figure"? As our newsfeeds are flooded with six-packs and cellulite-less thighs, I fear that we are slowly redefining a "normal" body as one that is characterized by 12% body fat.

Don't get me wrong, if 12% body fat makes you feel great, go for it. But we have to stress that a person's reflection in the mirror, the way they look in a photo, or the number they see on the scale are not strong indicators of health. Appearances can be, and often are, deceiving.

Let's place the focus on improving endurance, getting stronger, and fueling our bodies with **primarily** nourishing foods. These are healthy measurements of progress.

And please, for the love of God, the advertisements of "lose 5 pounds in a day by drinking this tea that will give you the worst diarrhea of your life and make you lose 5 pounds of water weight, which will result in dehydration and feeling like death" need to stop. There is no such thing as a one-day get fit plan. These advertisements are misleading and enforce an unhealthy mindset.



Disordered Hashtags

#Thinspiration? This is a disordered term. It makes me sick to my stomach and immensely sad that there are people that actually follow this hashtag. I pray to the high heavens that every person reading this does their part to make this hashtag crash and burn.

Rant over.

Those that are seasoned and well informed on the topic of health and fitness know that being "thin" is not an actionable goal to set. How "thin" do you want to be? When will you be "thin enough"? If it's goals and inspiration you are after, set a goal to do five pull-ups. Set a goal to reach a healthy BMI. These are good goals.

Being "thin" is an indefinable goal, which makes it a very slippery slope for unhealthy behaviors. Please, for your own mental health, be mindful of where you find inspiration.

Photoshop, Photoshop, Photoshop

This is an obvious one, but has to be mentioned. As you scroll through your news feeds, understand that a large proportion of the photos you see have been retouched. This is a much larger problem that has infected every single form of media, and I hope that it is remedied in the extremely near future - but in the meantime, just know that you aren't the only person that can't take a cameltoe-less picture in leggings (the "blur" tool works wonders for removing that).

I Hate the Term, "Cheat Meal"

You are not cheating! You are treating yourself to something you really like to eat, which may or may not be the most healthful food choice. A cheat meal implies that you are in some way allowing yourself to be soooo bad by deviating from your 100% perfectly balanced diet. If you want a burger, eat a burger. Don't do it all the time, but don't hype up the experience and plan it out all week long.

"Cheat" is a horrible word. Please tell me how eating a burger can be lumped into the same category as cheating on your wife or cheating on the Bar Exam? Exactly. You can't.

Orthorexia on the Horizon

Orthorexia is a fairly newly defined eating disorder characterized by an obsession with healthful eating. If approached with an unhealthy mindset and lack of awareness, I fear that this social movement has the ability to perpetuate this disorder.

Orthorexia is a wolf in sheep's clothing. On one hand, eating healthfully and being mindful of our food choices is important. We only get one body and we should do our best to take care of it. On the other hand, life is short. It's too short to never go out to dinner with friends out of fear of unhealthy ingredients. It's too short to spend an enormous amount of mental energy and time planning out every calorie you eat.

Life is all about balance. Have fun. Don't be too hard on yourself. Just like one healthy meal won't give you the "perfect" body, one bad meal won't land you on your deathbed. And if you are struggling with what you feel may be an eating disorder, reach out for help. We all deserve to love ourselves and rejoice in the skin we are in.



As much as I appreciate the increased awareness surrounding health and fitness, I hope that we can all work towards spreading body positivity and self-love, both on and off social media. There are many Youtubers and Instagrammers that spread a very healthy message about health and fitness. Some of my favorites are Dani Spies, Mind Over Munch, Fit Men Cook, and the obvious, Blogilates.

Let's work towards a shared social message that self-worth isn't measured by the size we wear, how healthy our meal was, or a silly number on the scale.

And for those of you that find it challenging to appreciate and love your bodies as you scroll through your social feeds, I encourage you to unfollow the accounts that evoke these negative thoughts. I did, and I miss them as much as the almond meal and flax seed cookies I stopped forcing myself to eat three months ago.

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Here's an Easy Two-Minute Trick to Calm Your Racing Mind

Obsess much? Here's a way to stop the cycle (and basically tell your brain to STFU).

By Amanda Schupak, SELF



Photo: Kyle Ericksen/WWD

Replays of awkward interactions, missed opportunities and embarrassing regrets distract us during the day and keep us up at night. Think about how many times you've agonized over some dumb thing you said. Or rehearsed a conversation that hasn't happened--and might not ever. Or couldn't get that awesome comeback you thought of too late out of your mind. (The jerk store called, and they totally would have been ready with a killer burn.) Your brain can take you on a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride of futile fantasy and psychic self-flagellation, and it often feels like there's no getting off it.

"We have 40,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day, and we're usually worrying about our past or our future," Lynne Goldberg, meditation coach and co-founder of the OMG I Can Meditate! app, tells SELF. That's a lot of time fretting over stuff we can't control, and not paying attention to what's actually going on.

"Rumination is when you go over the same--usually negative--thought again and again," explains David Cox, chief medical officer for mindful meditation app Headspace. "You're trying to work out why did it go wrong, what could you have done, and what could you do. It's useful if you do it once, but there's no benefit to doing it again and again."

That logic doesn't stop us from obsessing, though, does it? Fortunately, there are tactics you can use to put the brakes on a runaway train of thought.

Related: 7 Skills All Highly Charming People Have

You can't exactly command your brain to stop thinking about something (it'll just laugh at you and think harder), but you can trick it into focusing on something that doesn't totally suck.

The first step to stopping obsessive thoughts is to realize that you're having them, which is harder than it sounds. The reason that we can get lost in thought so easily is that we're unaware that we're lost in thought. Consider the way you can drift off during a phone call and suddenly realize you missed a solid five minutes of what the person on the other end was saying. Thought is a powerful thing, and it doesn't need your help--or your permission--to take over your brain.

"You get caught up in the thoughts themselves because they have an emotional charge," says Cox. "So actually going, 'Huh, I'm ruminating right now and maybe I should...stop,' is quite a hard thing to do."

You can break the cycle of rumination by noticing your thoughts, then shifting your attention to something physical instead.

Thinking involves many different parts of your brain in a pretty complex network of connections. One of those connections--between the prefrontal cortex, which plays a big role in complex thought (and therefore also in rumination), and the amygdala, your brain's emotional center--gets interrupted when you activate a part of the brain called the insula that processes information about the state of your body.

"So," Cox explains, "if you move your attention to physical sensations, like the soles of your feet as you walk, your breath, or your seat in the chair, you physically can't ruminate."

Goldberg likens it to juggling: "You can't have a busy mind and juggle at the same time. You have to focus."

The following technique can help you regain control of your thoughts. And the more you practice it, the better you'll get at noticing when you need to do it.

Related: 36 Things Every Woman Should Know How To Do By The Time She Turns 30

This 2-minute mini-meditation from Goldberg is an easy go-to anytime you need to get a handle on an out-of-control mind:

• First look around and notice where you are.


• Then close your eyes and notice the sounds around you, whether that's a baby crying, horns honking, or your coworkers banging away on their keyboards. "Allow yourself to be there with the sounds," Goldberg says.


• Take one deep breath to settle yourself.


• Then follow your breath, from the moment the air touches your nostrils as you inhale, feeling it fill up your chest and belly, and as it leaves your body as you exhale, noticing if the air feels warmer or colder.


• Repeat this for five deep breaths.

"The core of this brain hack is understanding that you can interrupt a distracting thought with a meditation, and it doesn't have to involve three hours in lotus pose," Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D., author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life (due out this spring), tells SELF. "You can literally take 30 seconds and close your eyes and start to focus on your breathing."

More from SELF:

11 Dermatologists Share Their Best Advice For Gorgeous Skin

20 Emojis You've Been Using Wrong

7 Sex Positions That Will Make You Feel Drunk In Love

Your Do-Anywhere, Total-Body Workout

7 Steps to Eliminating Your Dark Undereye Circles For Good

18 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Sleep Without Realizing It

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